Thoughtful Tuesday: My Family

I’m following JJ’s example and starting the Thoughtful Tuesday:

Each Tuesday, I’m going to share something I am either:
a) thankful for, b) something I witnessed that was an act of kindness, or c) something I did to “pay it forward”

This tuesday: My family.

My three brothers and I are not as close-knit as other siblings might be. My mom and I definitely had our share of fights and problems with each other while I was growing up. And we don’t have this close and special mother & daughter relationship, other mothers & daughters have. I don’t miss that though. Maybe because I never experienced it. I’m not sure I really would want that “my mother is my best friend” relationship anyway :-)

All this aside, today I’m thankful for the family I have. For having a family in the first place. A group of people I can count on to just be there, whatever happens. To lend me a hand, when I need it, without me having to beg them for help. Like when it comes to moving all my furniture and boxes from this flat to the new one in October and to help with painting the walls in the new flat and all that stuff. I’m thankful for my mom still being around despite all the really scary health problems she went through three years ago.
Today I learned that an acquaintance / distant neighbour of our family passed away a few days ago. He had some rare kind of blood cancer (I’m not even sure if it really was cancer. It was something serious), but he had lived with that for almost 10 years. He was a few years younger than my mom. His daughter and I were in the same class in elementary school, so I’ve known him – even if not closely – for almost 30 years. For most of my life. It’s sad.

So, yes, today I’m really thankful for my family.